28 Seekers
by madwriter223 -TF
Summary: They grew up together, they fought together, they flew together - three were one, and no one could take that away from them. Thundercracker/Skywarp/Starscream, Katsuko AU. Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, and many more.
1. Naughty

Well, here it is. I've officially taken on the 28 Meme. I'll write them for our favorite seekers, and they all will be in Katsuko's AU. ^__^ Cause I like it that much. 3 3

Enjoy:

**28 Meme – Naughty**

Thundercracker bristled, clicking angrily to himself.

Stupid caretaker and stupid Dirge. It wasn't his fault that stupid 'Look at me, my helm is shaped like a cone!' seekerlet was annoying the colour out of everyone. Why _he_ had to be punished for showing the idiot he was not so great at all? The moron had it coming for a long time now.

And it was not his fault that that paint-container had opened when it hit that cone for a helm, spilling purple paint everywhere.

At least Warp seemed to like it.

He fidgeted slightly on his blue stool, and resisted the urge to bang his forehead against the wall he was supposed to be facing.

Stupid time-out... who in their right processor came up with the idea anyway? Making innocent seekers sit in a corner and telling them to 'think on what they've done'.

He threw a paint-container at Dirge, and ended up repaiting him purple. There, he was done, could he go now?!

A glance at the caretaker, who shook his head, and the blue seekerlet faced forward again. Stupid caretaker and his stupid rules...

He suddenly heard a scuffling noise behind him, but he didn't turn to see who it was. If this someone tried to bother him, he'd bite him, and be proud of it, dang it!

Instead, a red stool was depositioned next to him, a purple one appearing on his other side. TC turned his head to watch as both of his trinemates got situated on their seats. Starscream smiled and chirped at him softly, then turned his entire attention to the wall in front of him (their Littlest could probably find something interesting in a piece of metal). Skywarp, on the other hand, alternated between frowning at the smooth surface and bouncing on his bottom, chirping to himself.

TC smiled widely. His trinemates sure were weirdos... wonder what they did to get sent to the corner for?

As if to answer his question, a caretaker approached them, crouching behind the three.

"Starscream, Skywarp, come here. Thundercracker is being punished, so you can't join him. He should think about what he did _alone_." The tall mech then reached for his trinemates, urging them to go to him.

Starscream blinked at the mech, then twisted his dermas into a bored expression. "Go away, idiot, you're bothering us." Warp clicked in agreement, sticking his glossa out at the other.

Ah, funny how low the other's jaw could hang. TC grinned to himself. Their Littlest was so far the youngest in the care-centre, but could already out-talk most mechs. Smartest little thing ever, they called him.

Warp was just obnoxious.

The caretaker seemed to collect himself after a moment, then narrowed his optics. "Fine." He got up then and moved away.

TC watched him go with satisfaction, then returned to looking at the wall. Starscream went back to staring at it in fascination, and Warp resumed bouncing/chirping.

They sat there till it was time to go.


	2. Jealousy

**28 Seekers – Jealousy**

The meeting coming to an end, the Decepticon higher officers stood up, moving to leave.

"You stay, Starscream."

The scientist started, turning around. "Yes, Lord Megatron?"

The Leader waited for the rest of his troops to leave (save for his Second and Third in Command), before continuing. "I have a gift for you."

Thundercracker's helm snapped up, his optics narrowing.

"A gift?" Starscream repeated, coming closer. "For me?"

"Of course." Megatron smirked, then unsubspaced a cube-shaped box.

Starscream looked from the box to the Overlord, to his trine leader, then to the box again. Then, he cautiosly took the item, looking it over. "What is it?"

Megatron raised an optic ridge at him, and the seeker snapped open the latch, looking inside. Instantly his optics widened.

"Five live specimens for you to experiment on, sedated for now." Megatron explained, smirking softly as the other looked back up at him.

The black facial plates were split in a wide smile, the scarlet optics nearly sparkling with glee.

The gun-former waited for a few moments for the other to say something, but the seeker continued to stare at him, his expression unchanging.

"Well?" he prompted, cocking one eye-ridge.

He was almost prepared for the explosion.

"THANK YOU, LORD MEGATRON! You have no idea how much this is going to help me better my studies of this planet, now I can study their brains, digestive system, airway, all their internal organs, there are so many possibilities for me to explore now, and thank you so much, this is a wonderful gift!"

Thundercracker cleared his vocalizer.

"Sir." Starscream corrected himself. "Thank you very much, sir."

"You're welcome." Megatron nodded at him. "Go enjoy your gift."

Starscream beamed at him, thanked him once more, then turned and fled the room in his excitement.

Megatron watched after him, noticing absently that his SIC moved to stand next to him, both facing the same direction.

"Is there a problem, Thundercracker?"

"Not yet, sir."

Megatron grunted, fighting the smirk that was trying to grow into a smug one.

After a tense pause the seeker continued. "Permission to speak out of line, sir."

The Overlord raised an optic-ridge. "Granted."

A smoldering glare was aimed his way from the corner of his subordinate's optic. "Remember who he belongs to. Sir."

It took a tremendous effort for the gun-former to keep his expression straight, and somewhat bored. "Dismissed."

The glare continued for a few kliks more, than the seeker left without a word.

As soon as the door slid shut after him, Megatron's facial plates cracked into a wide grin, amused and slightly evil chuckles escaping the mech.

Unseen by his superior, Soundwave rolled his optics behind his visor. "Teasing Thundercracker: inadviced." he intoned, stepping closer to the hysterical (for him, at least) Overlord.

Megatron waved his hand in a dismissing fashion, sinking down into his chair and continuing to laugh.


	3. Exhausted

**28 Meme – Exhausted**

Skywarp lay on the floor, his arms twitching occasionally, a large piece of rag clutched in each servo.

A set of peds appeared next to his helm, and he glanced up at the blurry, blue mech.

"'s that you, Sou'wave?" he asked tiredly, blinking rapidly to dispell the blurriness. "Cause 'f t's you, I'mma scrubbin'." His arms twitched to prove that. "I'mma scrubbin'. But 'f t's not you... I can't move my arms, help."

The mech above him shook his head, then bent down and lifted the seeker off the floor.

*~*~*~*

Starscream was at his desk. He was leaning over it, to be more exact, with his helm pressed to the flat surface. He mumbled constantly, the mech standing behind him catching several chemical names and properties between the ununderstandable sounds. Before the seeker, a beeker cooked merrily over a low flame, a green steam leaving the container.

The other mech sighed, turned off the flame and lifted the slumbering seeker away from the desk.

*~*~*~*

Thundercracker grunted as he depositioned Starscream on the berth next to Skywarp. Feeling much calmer now that he had both his trinemates close, he got down to what needed to be done.

First, he dried Skywarp's servos, rubbing all the left-over suds off. Then he opened his arm panels, and realigned the few cables that had gotten loose during the prolonged scrubbing, ignoring the muttered "I'mma scrubin'"s from him.

Next, he got a wet cloth and cleaned Starscream's facial plates and servos of the residue chemicals, then he plugged himself into his neck port and took the readings to check if the scientist hadn't intook some volatile chemicals during his inpromptu nap.

That done, he made sure both recharging trinemates were settled comfortably, and turned to his work computer.

He had paperwork to finish.

*~*~*~*

Three joors later, and he was barely in the middle of all this slag. Why does a war produce so many of these? Couldn't they just burn them? Or throw 'em into the Autobot base and then burn 'em? As long as it included burning the boring things, he'd be happy with anything.

Thundercracker yawned widely, rubbing at his optics and shaking his helm to clear it. He'll finish this, then go recharge with his-

A sudden tap on his wing startled him, and he whirled around. The other two seekers stood before him, swaying slightly, their optics dim, barely online.

Skywarp extended his servo, an energon cube in his grasp, while Starscream moved to the console, and started closing all the files on it.

TC smiled softly, accepting the cube and taking a sip, then subspaced it. He allowed himself to be pulled by Skywarp and pushed by Starscream out of his chair, letting them mechhandle him as they led him to the berth.

He lay down on the middle, both trinemates settling in on either sides of him, and falling back into recharge immediately. TC took a moment to just smile softly at the ceiling, then offlined his optics and drifted off himself.


	4. Playing with Kids

**28 Meme – Playing with Kids**

Another peaceful cycle in the Decepticon HQ. There hasn't been any battles with the Autobots for nearly an earth-month, the energy gathering/energon converting machine Starscream had created was working excellently, and no problems whatsoever in the sense of tectonic-movements around the ship.

In other words, total boredom.

Megatron contained the urge to sigh. Or to groan. Or to shoot somebody just to amuse himself.

Instead, he turned his attention back to Soundwave, listening to him give his report and trying to resist the lull of recharge the monotone vocalizer was beginning to induce.

He frowned suddenly when he felt a peculiar sensation on his ped. It felt like... pulli- no, it was more of a repeated pressure, moving in a particular spot right over his...

Oh.

He lifted his ped, glancing down at it. And sure enough, a tiny blue and grey form was attached to it, gnawing happily away at the ped-plates right above his ankle joint, and making little 'nom, nom, nom' sounds.

He stared at the little creature for a moment, then activated his comm-link. "Thundercracker, get your aft to the throne room, _now_."

_'Yes, sir.'_

Megatron nodded to himself, and reached forward, grasping the sparkling around the middle, extra careful with the still developing wing-nubs, and pried him off his ped.

The little beast let go after a few gentle tugs, large scarlet optics fixing on Megatron as he dangled in the air before the Overlord's facial plates. He chirped in greeting, giving a toothy grin.

Megatron huffed through his vents. Of course it was toothy, he had evidence of that on his leg. Why did the little flyer seemed to always attack the same spot he would never know.

The seekerlet in his grasp gave a sad coo, little servos reaching towards him. Megatron already knew what would happen if he didn't comply, and unfortunately for him and every bot in the base the little ankle-biter inherited his vocalizer after one of his Creator's.

His expression unchanging, Megatron brought his other servo closer to the mechling, extending a single finger. The seekerlet gave a trill, grasped the appendage and pulled it close to a tiny chassis. He gave two short engine revs that Megatron had learned to recognise as a 'thank you', and started once again happily gnawing away.

Why he kept repeating those annoying 'nom's was another mystery.

Suddenly, the main doors slid open, and a tri-coloured seeker burst in.

"Runway! There you are." Starscream marched over to his leader, taking the seekerlet into his arms. "How many times do I have to tell you Lord Megatron is _not_ a chew-toy?!"

The seekerlet blinked up at his Creator, then gave a soft chirp, pointing towards the Overlord as if it answered everything.

The scientist sighed, and bowed to the grey mech. "I apologise for his behaviour, Lord Megatron. Again."

Before the CO could reply to that, the sidedoors slid open, the Air Commander moving inside.

He saluted. "You called, Lor-... he got away _again_?"

"I turned my wings on him for one klik." Starscream nodded, while Runway waved madly at his other Creator. "We really should've called him something else."

Megatron snorted.

Thundercracker came closer, giving the little one a finger to chew on as he turned to the grey mech. "I apologise, sir. I would say it won't happen again, but apparently he's already a loyal follower of yours."

Uh-huh, more like loyal stalker. Ready to bite him as soon as the mech held still long enough to tackle. "Just add the throne room to the list of rooms he's not allowed in."

Thundercracker nodded, and turned away, steering his bondmate towards the door, and started talking to him in seeker-speech.

"Where's Sonar and Jetstorm?"

"I left them with Warp when I noticed he got away."

"You'd better go back before they end up blowing our quarters again."

"You know Sonar didn't mean to, he was just curious how the Energon dispenser worked."

"Starscream. He realigned the cables enough to make a bomb out of it." He gave his mate a push in the right direction. "He's got your smarts, so go save Creator Warp before he has to shield them with his body again."

"Alright, alright." The scientist gave a small wave, mimicked by Runway with a small chirp, then hurried away.

Thundercracker watched them till they disappeared behind a corner, then returned to the throne room. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Don't have anymore sparklings any time soon." Megatron replied in a flat tone.

"Three is enough for now, sir." The SIC crosed his arms under his wings.

"Go back to your duties." The Overlord commanded, waving his servo in a dismissive gesture. The blue seeker nodded, then left.

"Continue, Soundwave." Megatron muttered, leaning back with a mental sigh as the uninteresting vocalizer resumed droning out facts.

Yup. It sure was boring at the Decepticon base.


	5. Bathtime

**28 Meme – Bathtime**

Windbearer pushed down the need to sigh heavily, and grasped at the seekerlet's flailing arms. The little terror struggled against him, trying to get onto his peds or to crawl away probably. The little one was letting out loud cries and wails as Energon tears trailed down his facial plates.

Windbearer sighed heavily then, and once again tried to still the seekerlet enough to clean his wings, ignoring his sparkwrenching sounds.

No one at the carecenter knew just why Skywarp hated baths so much. They had scanned him, taken him to the carecenter's medic, urged his Creator to take him to a proffesional, but nothing was found. No structural error in his plating to make it more sensitive, no recognizable aversion to water, no deep ingrained fear of rusting (because he was too little to understand that). Yet still, each time the seekerlet got dirty enough to warrant a bath (as he did often), the little terror would first lead all the caretakers on a merry chase around usually the whole building, then cry and struggle as if they were ripping his plating off.

The mech gentled his touches even more, giving a soft trill to calm the little one. The black and purple sparkling looked up at him, optics wide and pleading, then doubled his efforts to get away.

The caretaker sighed, trying to still the little one completely. No such luck, it seemed.

Thankfully his trine was locked in a different room, far away from the washracks. The blue one was definitely a trine leader in the making, considering the actions he took to those he decided were hurting his wingmates.

Let's just say a lot of objects found new resting places on others' helms. Quite often, actually.

The fierce protectiveness was further fueled by the expression of absolute outrage that accompanied the projectal missiles. It wasn't often such rage could be found on the facial plates of sparklings, so it was a most memorable occasion each time he saw it.

Add the fact the blue mechling had figured out how to start his thrusters and could already hover like a pro, and they had their servos full with the pair.

And let's of course not forget little Starscream. Creation of a renewed scientist, he already was showing signs of being a genius. Thankfully, he was the only seekerlet of the trine that was remarkably calm, though the fact his favorite pass-time activity was sitting still and staring eerily at everyone and everything was starting to worry him.

But what Starscream lacked in the mobility, he made up with his ability to talk. The youngest seekerlet in the history of their carecenter to actually be able to speak in anything other than seekerlet-speech or single words.

And, frag, was the little one insolent. And rude. Whenever he chose to speak he usually ended up insulting someone. Windbearer himself had been called an idiot and moron by the little ankle-biter more times than he could count. And he seemed oddly pleased with the mech's baffled expression afterwards too.

It wasn't often one got ridiculed by a sparkling that could fit in the palm of his servo, after all.

Windbearer sighed heavily, rubbing a little harder at a particularly difficult stain, ignoring the little one's cries as they gained volume.

One would think Skywarp would have gotten used to the baths by now, but no~. He wondered briefly how his Creator managed the little terror. Probably put him in stasis. That could be an idea worth looking into. Or maybe-

So lost in his thoughts Windbearer was, that he completely missed the sound of the door sliding open behind him. He also missed the sound of tiny thrusters igniting.

He couldn't, however, miss the harsh bite delivered to the tip of his wing where the plating was most sensitive.

He yelped in startlement, jumping back and twisting to look at his aching limb. Then promptly blinked.

Thundercracker was holding onto the mech's wing, quiet growls reverbeting out of his vocalizer. And, to make matters worse, the expression of absolute outrage was etched onto the white facial plates.

The seekerlet was pissed. And a pissed seekerlet was a world of trouble.

He winced when the winglet tightened his jaws for a moment, then thankfully let go, using his thrusters to get himself down. Only to grab onto the tiny tri-coloured sparkling and lift them both up to the ledge Skywarp and the bassine he had somehow stayed in was.

Windbearer's optics widened when he noticed what the smallest one was holding. That looked like- a cable. A cable coloured like the cables for security were. A quick-glance proved the panel controlling the opening/closing of the door was hanging on one screw, a jumble of cables previously hidden behind trailing nearly to the floor.

Oh, scrap, the little monster could sabotage door-locks _now_?!

That definitely explained how they managed to get in.

Windbearer turned back towards the sparklings, taking in Thundercracker's little but intense glare, and took a respectful step back. Then two more. The blue mechling seemed satisfied with that, his glare lessening, but not disappearing.

Meanwhile, Starscream appeared to have crawled into the bassine, and was currently petting the still crying Skywarp's helm, trilling soothingly. Slowly, the sobs died down, only sniffles and tears remaining.

Smiling brightly, Starscream sat back slightly, his trill changing into a chirp. Suddenly, he lifted one arm and hit the surface of the cleaning fluid, splashing at the black and purple seekerlet.

Skywarp blinked in surprise, staring down at the spot the fluid had hit him. He gave a sad coo, then lifted his helm to stare in betrayal at the other.

But the tri-coloured mechling just grinned, splashing him again.

Skywarp glared then, and splashed back.

The little wave was high enough to hit Starscream in the facial plates, some getting into his nose-intakes. The little one shook his head in surprise, his dark face scrunching up in a sneeze.

Skywarp gave a tentative smile, and repeated the action, waching his trinemate's reaction in growing glee. He laughed softly, the sound gaining strength when Starscream started reciprocating, and a splash-war ensumed.

Windbearer tried not to stare. That was _it_? Splash the scraplet a little and he _calmed down_?!

He caught movement out of the corner of his optics, and glanced at Thundercracker. The blue seekerlet was getting into the bassine besides Skywarp. He turned and clicked angrily at the caretaker in case he tried to come closer, then settled himself comfortably behind his trinemate. He grabbed the cleaning cloth Windbearer had dropped earlier and started rubbing it against the other's wing.

The black and purple mechling started, turning to look at him in apprehension. But Thundercracker just clicked at him, rubbing the cloth in erratic circles. After a moment the other one started cooing sadly, little facial plates curling into an unhappy expression.

The young trine leader stopped scrubbing then, crawling around the mechling and sitting next to the tri-coloured one, lifting the cloth to rub at Starscream's wing.

The white limb twitched, but the seekerlet stayed silent, staring in that creepy way of his at a bubble floating before him.

Skywarp cocked his helm to the side, observing quietly. Then he moved closer, sitting on the other side of the smallest winglet, and gathered a little of the foam in his servos, moving to rub them at the wing before him.

Starscream giggled, shifting slightly, then continued staring at the bubbles.

This continued for a few breems, the two seekerlets cleaning their mate, Thundercracker turning back to glare at the mech standing by the door every so often. Then, the trine leader moved back to Skywarp's side, and resumed cleaning his wing.

And to the shock of Windbearer, the seekerlet actually allowed it!

In fact, when the cloth moved to his front, the black and blue winglet actually started helping, grabbing the edge of the material and rubbing it against his arm.

Starscream watched them for a moment, then turned his helm to face the mech. "You." he called, vocalizer scratchy from being activated too early in its development. "Go get towels."

Windbearer stared at him – now he was ordering him around?! – then sighed, trudging towards the cabinet the towels were stored in.

Oh well, if the little terror was getting cleaned without wailing everymech's audials off, he could follow an order or two.

He couldn't help wondering how their Creators managed to deal with them on a daily basis though.


	6. Naive

**28 Meme – Naive**

Rainstorm, the leader of the trine most recently recruited by the Decepticon cause, grinned as he spotted the perfect mech for their first victim. Small, unassuming, and – most fitting – a nerd.

It was common knowledge that to show other 'cons they were not to be messed with, one had to do something to discourage any kind of mistreatment.

If they had to mistreat somemech to prove that, all the better, the three agreed wholesparkedly.

Still grinning, Rainstorm motioned for his trine to follow him as he moved to trail after the tri-coloured seeker, barely managing to contain the giggles he always got when he was excited. No need to make himself seem like a fool.

Finally, the soon-to-be-humiliated scientist entered a private room, designed as a lab probably. The three lingered at the door, calming themselves. Rainstorm once again smothered his giggles, and he could see Airfog clenching his servos into tight fists, stilling their eager twitching. They needed to appear as composed, as dominant as possible.

Nobody tried anything with them, after all.

The other exchanged a look with his trine leader, and they nodded. Time to start the fun.

They watched impatiently as Cloudstrike hacked the locking mechanism, and as soon as the doors opened, the three entered, not bothering with closing them again.

The more mechs to witness the better.

They stared at the seeker at the desk, bent over something, and not even sparing them a look.

"I'm conducting an important experiment, so I advise you to leave now." The mech murmured, and the three winced at the sound of his vocalizer.

Primus, how unfortunate of him. All the more reason to torture him a little.

Rainstorm chuckled tauntingly, moving to stand behind the seeker. "Now that's a vocalizer only a creator could love." He leaned down, nearly purring into one audial. "Though I suspect he told you to shut up _a lot_." His two trinemates chuckled evily in agreement.

He crowed in victory inside when he noticed a brow-plate twitching in annoyance. Their victim turned his helm to the side, looking the other up and down, then glancing at the others to measure them also.

Rainstorm refrained from grinning again. They were an impressive bunch, all big and burly, their frames carrying a strength that had made enough of an impact that Megatron himself had sent a scout after them. Or so they had been told.

But this seeker, this tiny in comparison to any other seeker, merely snorted through his vents, then turned back to the microscope, adjusting a few dials.

"What do you want?" he asked, vocalizer still scratchy. Through the bond he shared with his trinemates, the tri-coloured seeker could feel a question from his trine leader, further enforced by his other mate, offering assistance in dealing with whatever had annoyed him. The scientist hadn't been aware he was projecting, so he stilled his emotions, sending a reassurance mixed with confidence to them. He could handle these three idiots.

Rainstorm leaned over the desk, gleefully pushing a stack of datapads to the ground. "To get to know you, buddy."

Airfog and Cloudstrike moved closer then too, standing in position to grab the smaller seeker and hold him still.

Rainstorm smirked at them, then reached forward, intending to knock the microscope down too. A ped on the chassis stopped him, the thruster igniting throwing him back into his trinemates.

The three fell to the floor, Airfog snarling as he lauched himself at the other. And then was promptly thrown back onto their heap.

They looked up at the tri-coloured seeker as he moved closer to them on light peds, cracking his fingers.

"You're obviously morons, so I'll explain this in a way you'll be sure to understand." he said, then pounced.

*~*~*~*

Hook looked up from the 'pad he had been reading when the doors opened. His optics widened when he noticed the state his three newest patients walked in.

Scrapper, standing a little to the side, roared with laughter, falling to the floor holding his sides.

The Decepticon 'medic' spared a short glance at his gestalt mate, then turned to the three jets that had just entered. All three were covered in scratches and dents, and in a few places electric sparks could be seen through holes in their armour. One had his arms replacing his legs and vice versa. The other two weren't so bad off, though the fact one's helm was welded to the other's aft was sure to make up in humiliation what they lacked in damages.

"Let me guess." he begun in a flat tone. "You three thought it'd be a good idea to bother our recident smartbot?"

The three agreed by nodding (or in the case of one trying to).

Hook shook his head, huffing in amusement. Well, noone could say Starscream wasn't creative. "Idiots."


	7. Greedy

**28 Meme – Greedy**

Skyfire stared at the holopic in his servo. On it, his form beamed at him, one of his arms loped around a much smaller flyer, whose image he was currently tracing with his finger.

Starscream. His beautiful friend.

He remembered the first time he had met the seeker. The smaller mech had gotten lost in the halls of the Science Academy, large scarlet optics so adorably confused as he gazed around himself.

It had been love it first sight.

He had befriended the seeker, he had been the only one to look past the military-built frame and see the true Star.

A shy, amazingly gifted, dedicated scientist. He loved to fly, and to learn new things, wouldn't leave the lab not even to refuel without being reminded to do so.

They had spent vorns together, exploring, discovering, learning. Starscream possessed such a sharp mind, both in intellect and in wit. He recalled the few times he had been witness to the wonder that was the seeker's sharp glossa ripping into a mech unworthy of his attention.

Because that attention had been his. His and his only. The seeker had gone to him in everything, so eager to get approval for a new invention, or encouragement to try something new, oftentimes looking so cute when he received the praise or encouraging words with confusion.

Skyfire never seemed to realise the seeker had maybe just been trying to include him in his activities as friends often did.

And the many talks they had held. The seeker had needed explanations on nearly every aspect of everyday life. He was so lost, all on his own, with nomech to take care of him.

He never realised Starscream had never before been in Iacon, and thus hadn't known its cutoms.

All he saw was his Star 'needing' him to survive everycycle unscathed.

He had sent mechs trying to get closer to the seeker away, protecting him from the others. They had obviously only wanted to steal his Star away from him, to use him and hurt him.

He had made sure he was the only source of rumours the seeker had, carefully choosing which ones to share and which ones to omit. His Star was so fragile some of them could have harmed his self-esteem.

He had never learned that Starscream had heard of those seeker-concerning rumours from other sources and had promptly laughed at them.

Oh yes, Skyfire had been Starscream's whole world in Iacon, at least to his mind.

Or he would have been if not for his trine.

He never really did understand it, even now. Whenever they hadn't been talking about science and inventions, his Star always talked about the two seekers. Even during the day, when something funny happened the smaller flyer would say "Warp and TC would love that." When Starscream discovered something new or when he finished one of his long-time projects, he would run off to a comm, saying he had to tell 'Warp and TC'.

Warp and TC this, Warp and TC that... it had grown annoying over time.

Skyfire had been his life in Iacon, the other's new home, and yet the seeker had stubbornly returned to thoughts of the past.

They were not important, Skyfire was.

Especially considering he had met them a few times. Whenever they would come to visit, they would take long moments to taunt him with hugging his Star tightly, cooing at him as if he was a protoform.

How could Star stand it? He was a brilliant scientist, not a youngling to be coddled!

And somehow, his Star had nuzzled them at the sound, giving that soft trill he sometimes made when he was happy.

It was probably a seeker thing, this attachment to 'trine' no matter how patronizing they were. Odd.

The first time, he had been adamant on staying with his Star, but his seeker had asked him to give the three some privacy, and the pleading expression on his facial plates had the shuttle complying everytime, though reluctantly.

And the possesiveness!! They never let Starscream go anywhere on his own when they were visiting, following him everywhere, always touching him or speaking to him in seekerspeech.

It was disturbing to watch how the seekers had tried to cut his Star from the world around him. They had even pretended to be interested when the tri-coloured seeker talked about his projects with them. As if they could even understand what he was talking about with their tiny processors.

But thankfully every visit eventually came to an end, and the two seekers would leave. Skyfire had then redoubled his efforts to make himself a pernament fixture in his Star's thoughts. He would accompany him everywhere, help him in his projects and offer new important topics for discussion.

Because Star was his. His and his only.

He would be lost without him, the only mech that loved him for who he was.

And this had been proven. Through a freak accident, he had been separated from his Star for billions of years. And how had the seeker fared?

He had blindly allowed the other two flyers to steal him away from the scientific world, following after them to the Decepticon troops. Oh sure, he was supposedly the Commanding Scientific Officer, but what kind of science could there be among those barbarians?

And he was more than sure his little Star was being used by his trine, them influencing his every decision and thought, he was sure of that. His little Star had been pushed to the side by the cruel others, producing this... ruthless strangers he had heard hundred of stories about.

He had to do something. He had to find a way to reclaim his Star, to save him from the idiocy of those he followed. He had a right to make his own decisions. But just to be sure he chose the right one, Skyfire wouldn't present all the options to him.

His Star, after all, needed to be guided in everything. He would be lost without him.

Because Starscream belonged to him. And he would soon be where he belonged, with Skyfire.

The way it should have always been.


	8. Special Missing Part of Us

This piece is a companion to the Greedy prompt. This was actually the first that got written, and I thought my idea for Greedy would be a nice addition. Anyway, enjoy.

**Missing Part of Us**

Thundercracker stared at the piece of metal in his servos, tracing his fingers delicately over the edge. Skywarp sat behind him on the bed, helm into his shoulder as he sobbed shamelessly, long sparkwrenching sounds that seemed to fuel the dark despair he felt.

It had supposed to be a simple scouting mission. Nothing dangerous, not even close to any Autobots. Yet the proof lay against his palm. Little, inconspicuous bit of a wing.

It had been supposed to be safe. No need for reinforcements, one mech could handle it.

Megatron had said that. Soundwave had said that. Even Thundercracker himself had said that.

And now the only piece of their Littlest fit in his palm. The only thing they had left of him was this fragment of his little wing.

Starscream loved to fly. And he was the fastest seeker ever created.

Had been. Starscream had been the fastest seeker ever created.

TC's fingers curled around the metal, pressing the closed digits to his forehead. He offlined his optics, once again reaching out to the place their Littlest had occupated in their bond.

Only emptiness greeted him, a gnawing hole that attempted to devour his sanity.

With a chocked off sob, TC succumbed to the darkness and let his tears fall.

*~*~*~*~*

Scarlet optics onlined slowly, blinking away the haze of involuntary stasis-lock. An orange ceiling greeted him and he frowned in confusion. Did Warp redecorate?

He gave an amused smirk, then reached towards his trinemate, wanting to-

He sat up suddenly, wide awake as pain gripped his Spark. Warp was gone. He tried again and again, his efforts fruitless. Entire frame shaking now, he called TC... once more getting only a wall of emptiness.

He was alone.

Before he could voice his desolation, the doors to the room he was in opened. Revealing the one mech he never thought he'd see again.

"Skyfire?" he asked, vocalizer hopeful. He blinked. "Am I deactivated?" That could explain why he was alone in their bond.

The shuttle smiled softly at him, and moved further into the room, sitting down next to the berth Starscream was situated on. He reached out and a large servo was laid over blue fingers, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

"Starscream. You have no idea how happy I am to have you here." He sighed softly. "I missed you."

"I- I missed you too." Starscream gave a small smile, looking around the room he was in. The Well of the AllSpark sure wasn't what he had envisioned it to be. "How... how was I deactivated?" He asked, moving his helm to face his friend.

And noticed the red emblem on the other's chassis.

"You're still online, Starscream." Skyfire said, smiling reassuringly when the tetrajet stared at him in disbelief. "You are safe here, Star."

The seeker turned his helm away sharply, staring at the far wall in shock. That meant that his trine really _was_ gone. That he was alone. And the damn orange everywhere meant he was in the Autobot base. Dear Primus...

"Everything will be alright now, my Star." Skyfire continued, unaware of his friend's turmoil. "I'm going to take care of you now. We can work together again. I've already talked with Optimus about that, and he said all we need is you agreeing to join us."

Join the Autodorks? Did millenia in ice glitch the mech's processor? Did he even spend millenia in ice? Or had he been rescued shortly after the accident? Why didn't he try to contact the seeker?

"Wouldn't you like that, Star? Working together again, travelling, discovering new things, just the two of us."

The seeker said nothing.

A sigh. "Starscream, I know you. You're loyal to science first of all. If you join us, join _me_, you'll be able to concentrate on it as much as you want."

Starscream bit his lower derma as pain once again bloomed in his chassis. "I'm loyal to my trine too." he whispered.

Skyfire sighed, wrapping his arms around the other's unhappy frame, pressing him close to his front. "It's okay, my Star. I know you hurt from the bond being cut off, but it's for your own good." He smiled reassuringly. "This way they can't influence your decision."

All processor actions stopped sharply. What did he say?

"I know you'll make the right choice, my Star." The white shuttle went on, rubbing soothing circles over the seeker's arm. "I can hardly wait for us to go gathering samples again. It'll be just like old times. We'll see so many wonderful things, astounding phenomena that we should have seen before that snow storm." He paused, grinning at his plans for them. "I've finally got you back, my Star. I'll protect you now, so don't you worry about a thing."

"I-" Starscream paused, turning his facial plates back towards the other, smiling hesitantly. "You really think it'll be okay for me to..." he trailed off, a little worried frown wrinkling his expression.

Skyfire jumped to reassure him. "Of course it will be. I promise I won't let anything hurt you anymore. You're safe with me, I swear."

A small, beautiful smile spread over supple dermas. "I'd like that." His glossa darted outside, licking the corner of his mouth briefly. "I... I would like to talk to Prime."

"Are you sure?" the shuttle asked, optics kind and gentle. "I don't want you making hasty decisions, I know how you keep obsessing over those later on."

Starscream bit his lower derma, letting the soft alloy slip slowly from his dentals' grasp, a tiny pout forming in result. "I really want to see Prime, Sky." Large, frighteningly deep scarlet optics raised towards the other's, a plea written there.

Skyfire stared at him, his intakes quickening and internal temperature rising, before he smiled again, though a little shakilly. "Alright. I'll be right back, don't go any where."

"I won't." The seeker promised, giving the other a small happy smile, frame relaxing visibly. "Don't be long."

"I won't." Skyfire spared a moment to grin, then left.

As soon as the doors slid shut, the flyer's expression hardened into a scowl, frame tensing in agitation as he jumped off the berth.

How dare he?

He walked right over to the black device he had noticed earlier while Skyfire was spouting his delusions, looking it over. It seemed inconspiscious enough, but it was easy to recognise its purpose. A bond disruptor, no doubt about it.

He snarled, rising to his peds and moving to the middle of the room, letting his thoughts race as he took in everything in it. There had to be something. There had to be. Skyfire was an idiot when it came to anything other than science. A prime example would be completely disregarding Starscream's opinion, and continuing to do anything he could to have him. The shuttle had been like that even during their stellarcycles in the Academy, but the seeker had brushed it aside. He had been so sure it wasn't anything to be worried about. It now showed that he had been wrong.

He was not an object, and he could slagging take care of himself. He did not become the Decepticon CSO just because he was a genius! But did that idiot care? Of course not, better to dig a deeper hole in his 'I don't need reality' spot of the 'verse.

A certain something caught the seeker's attention, and he grinned.

Needless to say, when Skyfire came back into the room he found no seeker in it.

*~*~*~*~*

Two pairs of scarlet optics snapped online, two seekers jumping to their peds as a feeling that had been gone flared to existance.

Not sparing one klik for doubts, Skywarp grabbed his trine leader, and 'ported them both to the location of that beautiful feeling in their Sparks, that terrifying hole now filled with familiar warmth.

They reappeared right before the tri-coloured seeker, wrapping both arms around him tightly.

"SCREAMER!!" Skywarp shouted, pressing his facial plates into slim neck cables.

Thundercracker satisfied himself with alternating between squizing tightly and looking over every spare inch for damages. Other than the missing part of his wing their Littlest was fine.

Starscream in turn pressed close to them, cooing softly, sadly. He was shivering ever so slightly, thoughts swirling with his old friend's betrayal and the earlier turmoil.

After long moments of touching and caressing, all three reassuring themselves their fears of earlier that orn had not been correct, TC gently pulled Warp off, and took hold of Starscream's shoulders, their optics meeting.

Before he could vocalise anything, a scratchy voice he had feared he would never hear again interrupted him.

"I know, I know. You're never again letting me leave the base alone." A small teasing smile, and it finally sunk in.

They were three again.

TC pulled their Littlest close again, petting his helm gently. Warp plastered himself to the scientist's wings, nuzzling them with a purr.

"Where were you?"

"At the Autobots." The tone had both other seekers glancing at each other with worry. "I'll explain everything later, I just want to go home now."

"Star." TC pressed a soft kiss to one optic-ridge. "What happened?"

One pair of scarlet optics dropped to the ground. "Skyfire."

"Sky- isn't he deactivated?" Warp asked, tipping the black helm up with a gentle finger. "Is he online?"

Silence.

"He's online, isn't he?"

Their Littlest's optics hardened. "I'll explain everywhere later. Now get me home, or I'll fly there myself."

Skywarp chuckled, slinging an arm around his trinemate's shoulders. "No need to crash yourself into a wall, Screamer." He pressed a quick kiss to one cheek, while TC pressed one to the other one, grabbing the teleporter's servo.

In the space of a blink, they were gone.

*~*~*~*~*

"We need to find him, Optimus!" Skyfire paced the Prime's office, processor swirling with dark thoughts. "He can't fly with a damaged wing, and he's all alone. He could fall, or try to fly and hurt himself, he could be found by one of the Autobots that don't know he's with us now, he could-"

"Skyfire, calm down." The Prime laid a steady servo on the shuttle's shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Of course he's fine." Prowl said, having just ended the comm call from Jazz. "Red Alert spotted him half a klik behind the base."

"That's wonderful!" the shuttle beamed. "I'll go get him right awa-"

"Red Alert also said he spotted his trine, and then all three disappeared from the sensors moments ago."

"Skywarp most probably teleported them." Prime mused.

"Most probably." Prowl agreed.

"But- We have to get him back." Skyfire repeated, shaking his head. "He agreed to join us, he's an Autobot now. They'll hurt him."

The First and Second in Command, glanced at each other, then back at the other.

"Did he say he's agreeing to join?" Prowl asked in a flat voice.

"He was thrilled at the idea."

"Did. He. Say 'Yes, Skyfire, I will gladly join the Autobots'?"

"...no. But he smiled."

"Uh-huh." Considering the matter now closed, Prowl turned and left the office. He had more important things to do than to worry about a seeker's trine 'hurting' him. He'd sooner see Megatron making flower-chains while singing an ode to peace for Primus.

Optimus moved to stop the shuttle's continued pacing. "Skyfire. I have met all three of the seekers, and I saw how they interact. I can assure you that no harm will befall Starscream from them."

The shuttle seemed to consider that, then frowned worriedly. "But what about the other Decepticons?"

"His trine will protect him." He did not mention the fact that Starscream could take care of himself, but he doubted it would get through to the other. "He'll be fine."

"He'd be fine here too." Skyfire continued to argue, though his tone was now slightly hesitant.

Prime fought the urge to roll his optics. "There is one thing I know for certain about seekers. They do not react well to being separated from their trines." He took in the flyer's worried expression, and his own softened. "You knew him best, Skyfire. Maybe he did say 'yes' without saying it, and maybe he left because he missed his trine." He didn't mention the bond disruptor was probably a horrible idea. "Maybe he just left so that he could talk them into joining our side too."

Skyfire beamed. "I'm sure that's why. Thank you, Optimus." He bowed gratefully, then turned to leave.

Prime watched him go, then crossed his arms and muttered "Yeah, and maybe the Twins will scratch their paint off and start calling themselves Blank One and Blank Two." In other words – fat chance.

*~*~*~*~*

A orn later, there was an unexpected comm call from Decepticon HQ.

"Megatron. This is a surprise."

"Prime. I hope you've been infected with a terminal virus recently."

"No, can't say I have."

"That's a shame." Megatron nodded regretfully. "You have a flyer there on base, don't you? What's his name- Skybug, Skyaft?"

"Skyfire." Came from outside the screen, and the Decepticon leader nodded distractedly.

"Yes, yes, whatever. My CSO wants a word with him. Get him."

"Aren't you gonna say the magic word?" Ironhide asked sarcastically.

"You do remember we still have some prisoners from your side, right?"

"I'll get him, Bossbot." Jazz stood up and left as Ironhide grumbled.

"So..." Prime turned back to the screen. "Anything interesting happen lately, Megatron?"

"Well, I first lost my CSO to deactivation, then he was miraculously revived and I've had to deal with a pissed off SIC."

"I assume it was tirying."

"Tyring, no. Annoying, yes." The Decepticon Overlord leaned back in his throne, gazing cooly at the other. "But I'm sure delivering a good pounding to your dense helm will make me feel much better."

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

"I'm always planning your demise, Prime."

"And I'm always planning a way to stop you."

"You're more annoying then my SIC."

"Thank you."

At that moment, Jazz returned, the white shuttle walking in behind him.

"That him?"

"Indeed."

Megatron eyed the big mech for a moment, then snorted, getting up and moving to the side. Starscream appeared after a klik, a soft smile on his dermas. "Hey, Sky."

The shuttle beamed at him in relief, happy to see he was alright. The other scientist stared back, waving slightly to get his attention.

"I want you to listen carefully now, okay? I'm gonna try to explain this as simply as I can, so your oversized glitchy processor can understand."

Skyfire's expression turned confused at the sweet tone and cruel words, but he nonetheless gave a nod.

The seeker pointed a finger at the shuttle. "You Autobot. You an Autobot who was stupid enough to try to keep me away from my trine." He paused, his smile melting into a glare as he pointed at himself. "Me Decepticon. Me a Decepticon that will not hesitate to shoot you in the Spark if you ever come near me again. Got it?"

Skyfire blinked in surprise, then took an unconscious step closer to the screen. "Star, I understand you're angry at me. But I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I only cut you from your bond for your own good. I know how you follow everywhere your trine leader points, and I just wanted to spare you that. I wanted the decision you make to be your own." He paused, his optics pleading. "I know you'll be happy here, with me. I know you will, Star."

To his surprise (and the unsurprise of the other Autobots bearing witness), Starscream started laughing. Mockingly.

When the laughs died down, the seeker wiped imaginary Energon tears. "You're still the same as before." He chuckled softly, then glared. "But I'm not. Next time we see each other, remember that we're enemies. Oh, and my trine leader wants to say something."

Thundercracker's facial plates popped into view, cold scarlet optics fixing on the shuttle. "I see you, I kill you." He paused, his expression darkening. "Slowly." Then he leaned back out.

"One last thing." The look Starscream gave the other could freeze Hell twice over. "Never again call me 'Star'."

The screen turned dark now, but Skyfire continued staring at it, his expresion one of confused shock. Prime sighed, and patted his wing in consolation.

_At Decepticon HQ_

"That was it? A love-sick giant idiot?"

"At least you got a chance to swipe insults with Prime a little, sir."

"Hn."


	9. Silly

**28 Meme – Silly**

Every Autobot/Decepticon battle had three stages:

- the 'keep shooting until we hit something/someone' stage

- the 'Prime versus Megatron so everyone else can just screw around for a while' stage

- the 'holy Primus we're getting our afts handed to us, grab the energon and run' stage

Their latest battle was currently at the second stage, and Sideswipe was bored out of his processor. He stiffled a powerful yawn, back struts popping slightly as he stretched. His brother was right beside him and in a similar mood, unfocused optics staring ahead as he pulled the trigger over and over, not even paying attention to where he was shooting.

Why? Because for some reason the seekers, all of the seekers, had been staying as far away from them as possible.

Yeah, it was great that they were stricking fear into the flyers, but on the other hand it was terribly dull around there without any Jet-Judo to do...

Sunstreaker didn't even bother trying to hide his yawn as he sat down behind a boulder, leaning against it.

Sideswipe contemplated joining his twin, but he decided against it. After all, if Optimus chose to look their way, it would be best to act as if at least one of them was still trying.

Not like either of them had to try too hard, but still...

A few minutes later, he jumped in startlement when his brother jumped to his peds, grinning at something behind his back. The red twin turned around, blue optics shining with glee when he noticed three distinct, _flying_ forms coming their way.

Oh yeah. Time to party.

The two grinned at each other.

"Ready, bro?"

"As if you had to ask."

"Ah ah ah..." a voice sing-songed above them, and the two started, whipping around towards that sound.

The three seekers were hovering above them, Starscream shaking his finger at them as he 'tsk'ed. Skywarp was grinning widely, and Thundercracker had a smug expression on, arms crossed.

And they were _not_ attacking them.

Odd.

"We've got a present for you." The blue seeker said, moving his arms in such a way that brought to attention the guns strapped to his plating. And they were fully charged. "So shut up and accept it."

The twins glanced at each other in confusion. A present? From 'Cons?!

"What makes you think we'd want anything from you?" Sunstreaker sneered.

A gun was aimed at them.

"Okay, okay!" Sideswipe put a servo on his brother's shoulder, aiming to calm him. "So... give." Both looked at the seekers, preparing themselves for something horrible or dangerous to either pop up from behind the flyers or attack them from behind.

By now, the odd scene was starting to gain the attention of both still 'fighting' warriors.

Skywarp and Starscream's grins widened, and the two arms they had kep behind their wings whipped forward, revealing... two groundling mech puppets, one yellow and one red.

Twin blue optics widened.

"We are the Lambo Twins!!" The two tetra-jets said similtaneously, lifting the dolls for all to see, catching the attention of even more mechs. "We are the most beautiful, and brave and strong of the Autobots, their most valiant fighters!"

"I am Sunstreaker!" Starscream lifted his puppet, moving its strings in a way the puppet raised one triumphant servo. "I am the prettier one, and my beauty, both visual and from inside, has no match!"

A few mechs gathered around the gaping Lambo Twins chuckled.

"Why, I would bet all the Energon I have gathered through _more_ than legal means that even if Primus himself appeared among us, he would declare me the fairest!" Another move of an arm, and the puppet 'gasped', 'noticing' something. "Oh no! The unthinkable has happened!" The puppet turned towards the audience. "Ratchet! I have been mortally damaged! My very existance hangs in the balance! My beautiful armor has a _scratch_!"

The Autobot medic answered in loud guffaws, shouting something incomprehensible, but sounding close to "That's 'im alright! Ha!"

"Fear not, precious brother!" The Sideswipe puppet made a pose, one that had the surrounding mechs start making catcalls and whistling. "For here am I, Sideswipe! I will help you, for _I_ am the smarter of us, and I show my outstanding talents of observation and higher mental processes by dealing uncaring and usually humiliating pranks on all around me!" Skywarp once again forced the doll into a provocative pose.

A "You tell 'im, Sides!" sounded in a vocalizer suspisiously similar to Jazz's.

"And I, the Grand Sideswipe, will help you save your outstanding, but not better than mine, beauty! For you are my twin, Spark of my Spark, and I would give my own armor to you if it wouldn't be a waste of such fine material."

More laughs, and the two Lambos clenched their dentals.

"I will save y-" Suddenly Thundercracker uncrossed his arms, a fake spider on a string hanging from one of his servos. He brought the spider to dangle before 'Sideswipe'. "Ye Primus!! Oh no, a beast of unimaginative horror has appeared!!"

The crowd crowed, cheering the fake-insect on.

'Sideswipe' made a fainting pose. "Alas, despite my grand courage and unquestionable prowess, I am defeated by this odd creature. Why, do you ask? Because I fear it will scratch my armor with its eight legs!!"

The mechs laughed loudly, and the Twins started shaking in silent rage.

"My brother!" 'Sideswipe called, outstetching one arm. "Save me from this monster!"

"I would, of course." 'Sunstreaker' said. "This monster is of no match to my strength and mastery of underhanded moves, but alas..." A tiny hand-held mirror was held up next to his head. "I am currently busy admiring my handsomeness. For you, my dear brother, are gathering the attention of the onlookers, and my ego has suffered so. Why it shrank down to the size of Cybertron by now!" 'Sunstreaker' made a pained pose, then turned to concentrate on the small mirror. "I must now rebuilt the view I have of myself that I spend most of my shifts building!"

By now, even Prowl had a smile on his dermas, chuckling quietly. The Lambos were growling.

Skywarp threw the Sideswipe doll at his trinemate, and produced another from behind his back, one coloured blue and red, equipped with a tiny face-mask. "Fear not, my loyal followers, for I have arrived!"

The Autobots cheered, while the Decepticons booed. The twins were too busy seething.

"I, Optimus Prime, will defeat this monster! I will hereby lecture it on harmony, and peace, and goodness, till it will jump into the mouth of the first predator that comes near it, just not to listen anymore!"

The cheers and boos changed factions.

"Nay!" A Megatron puppet appeared hanging from Thundercracker's servo. "I will stop you, Prime! For I will not allow the world to be like you want it to be, with everyone being kind and helpful and selfless! Do you know how _boring_ it would be?"

The Decepticons cheered again, most giving loud "Whoop-whoop-whoop!"s in addition. The Autobots laughed, while the sting of being openly mocked festered in the Lambos.

Optimus raised an eye-ridge at the two new characters. He glanced at the mech standing next to him, gesturing towards the hovering seekers. "Aren't you going to intervene?"

"Oh please, they've been practising this for over an earth-month."

With a blink of surprise, the Prime turned back to the show.

"No, Megatron! You must be stopped, no matter the cost!" 'Optimus' raised on hand, shaking it threateningly.

"Bring it on." The the two came closer, mock-fighting while the crowd cheered for their 'leaders'.

Meanwhile, 'Sunstreaker' and 'Sideswipe' were having a conversation of their own, both operated by Starscream. Or more accurately, they were jumping up and down and squeeling like two fanboyz.

"Oh, look, we're saved!"

"Yey, the two strongest fighters have come to rescue us!"

"And we shall reward them for their _un_needed help by allowing them to touch our godlike frames, even though they are unworthy of such honour!"

"Nobody is worthy to lay their servos on our pristine paintjobs! But we shall allow it this one time!"

"Because they're both so _dreamy_!" Both squeeled once again, falling against each other in a faint.

Half of the crowd laughed at them, while the other half was still edging the two 'leaders' on.

"Optimus is just so kind and strong (not as strong as us)!"

"And Megatron is so powerful and insane!"

"But most of all-"

"They're both big enough to spank us like the naughty bots we are!" Starscream turned around for a moment, wiggling his aft at the audience along with the two dolls'.

All assembled transformers nearly fell over in their laughter.

The seeker returned to his previous position, moving the two dolls' arms up in a cheer. "So we shall jump them both!" Thus said, the dolls did, 'tackling' the two 'leaders' and 'kissing' them firmly.

Then, the four puppets and the spider were lifted into the air, and the three seekers bowed.

The crowd cheered through their laughter, the Dinobots (who had sat still through nearly the whole show, and payed rapt attention throughout it) started clapping, calling "Again, again!", practically jumping in their seats. The two leaders glanced at each other then chuckled/snorted.

The Twins were grounding their dentals so hard it was audible.

The seekers straightened, grinned at each other briefly, then turned their attention to the enraged Lambos.

"And now, to add injury to insult." The three subspaced the dolls and opened fire.

Those standing closest to the two yelped, and jumped out of the way, thankfully escaping nonscathed. The Twins weren't so lucky, one getting hit in the shoulder, and the other in the hip. The two fell onto a pile, groaning from their damages and stinging prides.

One seeker appeared before them, swinging the blue and yellow dolls in their faces. "We're keeping these." he grinned evily, then teleported away.

All three seekers laughed in glee at them, wicked expressions on their facial plates.

At the call to retreat from Megatron a moment later, the three turned and flew away, the Decepticon troops (still cackling) following close behind.

The Autobots stared after them – some in shock, some still amused, two in hate, and five in disappointment they hadn't gotten a repeat.

*~*~*~*~*

I have no idea why a puppet show. But the idea seemed silly enough, so I went with it for this prompt. XD

Also, the three stages of Autobot/Decepticon battle are borrowed from Katsuko. They're really accurate, ain't they? ^__^


	10. Angsty

**Angsty**

The guard started when two figures touched down right in front of the main gates. Two military-built flyers. Oh, crap, were they one of those Decepticons? That would mean trouble.

They didn't need a riot to be started in here.

He was just about to take aim to scare them off, when he noticed their facial-plates. They looked just like-

Oh. Right.

"You here to see Starscream?"

The blue one looked at him, his expression cold and hard. "Yes."

"I'll get you two passes."

"No."

"Huh?"

"We will not be entering. Bring him here."

A lip component twitched. "That an order?"

"No. A request."

Now, normally that tone would have him booting whoever was knocking away from the premises. But he knew Starscream and he had pretty much the same way of talking to strangers. Probably a seeker thing.

"I'll comm him."

*~*

Starscream had been in the middle of an experiment, but eagerly abandoned it when he had learned of the builds of his visitors. He hadn't seen his trinemates for long enough that the thought of them with him again was elating.

He nearly skipped on his way to the front gates.

When he spotted his wingmates, he nearly activated his thrusters and thrown himself at them.

But then the feeling of unease and sadness reached him, and he stopped. Something was not right.

He walked towards the two, his own worry growing at the solemn expression they were wearing.

Then a black hand lifted, and a command to "Stop." halted his steps just inside the gates.

"No leaving the Geek Area." Warp muttered, giving him a faint smile.

Starscream returned the expression. Really, Warp wouldn't be Warp without cracking a joke about something.

The guard walked over to them. "Safety procedures require me to ask do you know them."

"Leave."

"I'll take that as a yes." the groundling muttered, ticked the spot on the 'pad he was holding, then returned to his booth, promptly ignoring the three.

The scientist watched him go, then turned to his trinemates, speaking in seeker-speech.

"What's going on?" He glanced from one seeker to the other then back. He started when he noticed a new something on their wings. "Those are Decepticon emblems."

"Yeah." TC murmured quietly.

"You joined?"

"We did."

"Then..." The tri-coloured flyer paused, collecting his thoughts. "I'll go with you. Let me just get some data-files, and-"

"No."

"Okay, I'll leave them." They're not that important, and Skyfire's data's safe in subspace. "Let's go then." He moved to take a step closer to his trine, a step away from his current home, but a firm servo on his chassis stopped him.

"No, Starscream." TC shook his helm, regret shining in his optics. "You stay here."

The scientist nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. Yeah, like he was gonna let his trinemates do this without him. Bad enough they had been separated while he stayed in the Academy, but this? "No way, I'm coming."

"No, you're not."

"Look, I have no idea what exactly you're thinking, but-"

"There's a war coming, Screamer."

Starscream blinked in surprise, staring at the black and purple seeker. A war? "No way. It's just some riots, and-"

"For _now_, it's just riots." Thundercracker murmured. "But believe us when we tell you there's a war coming."

"A big one."

Starscream stared at them. "Then... then I'm going with you. Definitely going with you."

"No."

"I am! I'm not gonna just let you go off to war without me!"

"You're not."

"I am a member of our trine, and I'm going."

"You're our Littlest!" Warp grabbed his arm, squeezing tightly.

"You're not a warrior, Starscream." Thundercracker said, smiling sadly at him. "You're a scientist."

"You love molecules and weird organic thingies that smell."

"So you're gonna stay here. Stay here and be safe."

His Spark clenching painfully, the tri-coloured seeker slowly shook his helm, not understanding the situation. At all. A war? His trinemates joining it? Him to stay here, in the Academy?

Is that why they didn't want him to step outside the gates, even for a moment? Cause they're afraid he won't be let back in?

"Why did you come here?" He asked quietly, needing this to be a joke, a prank, a lie.

"You remember that gun you told us about?"

"The one that stuns, but doesn't kill?"

A tiny nod.

"Finish it." An order in a vehement tone. "Finish it, and if the fights come too close, use it and _run_."

A shiver.

"There's an underground care-centre under Vos."

"We hid the sparklings there."

"It's reinforced and shielded from scanners."

"You can hide there too."

Starscream bit his lower lip, unable to meet his trinemates' optics. His whole framed shook with uncertainty and the unwillingness to allow this. He couldn't just- oh Primus...

TC looked at him in silence for a few moments, then sighed. He placed his servo on the back of their Littlest's helm, Warp placing one there too. Then all three touched their foreheads together, their trine bond humming between them.

"It's gonna be alright, Littlest." he murmured. "You'll be safe, we'll survive. Then we'll be together again."

Starscream made a stangled noise that could have been agreement.

"We'll win a new world, you'll see." Warp promised, pressing a kiss to one dark cheek. "And we'll make sure you'll have your own private lab. Just for you to coo over yucky things."

A soft laugh escaped him.

"It'll be alright."

Starscream nodded softly, resignedly, reluctantly. Warm palms cupped his face, tilting it upwards. Two gentle kisses by two pairs of familiar dermas were placed on his own, then all contact disappeared as the other two took a step back. Away from him.

Starscream lifted his helm, steeling himself. "May your wings take you far. Then back to me."

Thundercracker smiled softly, then nodded. "We promise."

"That's an order."

"An' we'll obey." Warp waved as the two activated their thrusters, lifting into the air.

"I'll hold you to that." Starscream murmured, watching silently as his trinemates left.

He stood there a long time. Then he turned, and went back to his experiment.

*~*

Eight orns later, the Academy was shaken by an explosion close by. The riots had been intensifying lately, becoming more and more violent, and leaving more and more injured in their wake.

It was only a matter of time before someone was deactivated.

As he looked out the window, Starscream decided the possibility of the victim being one of the scientists here sky-rocketed.

The front gates had just been broken through.

He watched nearly dispassionately as a swarm of mechs filed into the front courtyard, their facial-plates melting against each other, making it near impossible to distinguish one form the other, friend from foe, brother from enemy.

It was brutal, terrifying, and his military programming buzzed in glee.

War.

Screams of lazers, buzzes of crashes, crunches of plating being damaged filled the air, the hurried sounds of pedsteps barely able to break through all the noise.

The scientists were running. They had all been fools not to escape sooner. Fools to believe those breakable walls would protect them.

This was War.

He could feel his trinemates, both flying somewhere he couldn't see. He could feel as their frames buzzed with the fight, how their wiring tensed and flexed in sudden movements and turns in the air. He could feel their damages, the sting of lazer burns, the ache of dents.

His processor raced with thoughts of their last meeting, the words that had haunted him. Slowly, a decision formed as he watched the fighting (the _slaughter_), as he felt the pains of battle, as his programming hummed.

He powered up his null-rays, then shot out of the window.

*~*

Megatron had welcomed him with open arms. He had praised him, an unmarked seeker that had joined the fight, and downed many enemies with his weapons. The missing member of his First Trine, soon to become the Commanding Trine. A seeker of both skills in the air, and smarts in the helm. The first Decepticon Scientist.

Megatron had praised him. Had grinned as he talked to his troops, using him as an example that even those that spent vorns among Autobots knew their cause was right.

Megatron had praised him. And he listened, standing still and allowing himself to be shown to the troops, to be cheered over.

He had shot many mech, both groundlings and flyers with his null-rays, freezing them long enough for somemech else to destroy them. Was he a warrior now? Or just a murderer?

Megatron had praised him. And he had stood there, trying to make sense of this strange new world and his role in it.

And worrying if his trinemates would ever forgive him.

*~*

"You were supposed to stay there!" Thundercracker yelled, barely waiting for the doors to their shared quarters to close behind them.

"I know."

"Then _why_ the slag _didn't_ you?!"

"The walls and gates barely lasted a breem. It wasn't safe there."

"And why aren't you in Vos right now?" Quiet, seething words.

"...I couldn't leave you two."

Warp winced in sympathy, and Thundercracker's servos clenched into spasming fists.

"We told you we'd be fine!"

"I know."

"We told you not to get involved! I ordered you not to get involved!"

"I'm already involved."

"You could have _not gotten_ involved! You could've done what I ordered you to!"

"I couldn't leave you two."

"You were supposed to stay safe! Safe from all this! And what did you do?! You threw yourself right into the middle of it!"

"I know." Anger tinting the tone.

"Primus-dammit, Littlest!! You-"

"I am not _just_ your Littlest!!" The tri-coloured seeker exploded, startling his trine leader into silence. He continued, his words quiet and vehement. "It's true that I am the smallest seeker probably ever built. It's true that I am a scientist. But I am also a _military_-built. I have the same programming that revels in a fight like yours!" He paused, calming himself. "But first and foremost, I am _Starscream_. And I _refuse_ to abandon my trine."

The three stared at each other, calculating just how much they were set in their convictions. Finally, TC slumped slightly, rubbing a tired servo across his facial-plates.

"We wanted to spare you this." He murmured.

"Then do." Starscream answered just as softly, his expression changing to one of pleading. "I'm still tiny. I'm still pretty naive about all this. I still need you." A pause. "But don't try to protect me by forcing me to abandon you. Don't make me leave. Don't hide me in Vos. Train me so I won't be deactivated in battle. Teach me how to establish myself here. Let me stay with you. That's all I ask."

A tense silence enveloped them then. Starscream kept meeting the hard gaze of his trine leader, watching as the resolt in it wavered. Thundercracker mulled over the words spoken quietly, but with the same stubborness that defined the other at times. Warp was regretful about what happened, saddened that their Littlest had thrown himself into this type of madness, but at the same time, the thought of the three of them being together was calming, reassuring.

He also tried to think of a good way to break the tension.

Ah, finally some inspiration. "We'll need a bigger berth."

Starscream blinked at him, looking at him with that expression of wide-opticed surprise that made Warp want to grin with glee. TC shook his head with a long suffering sigh, then pulled both his trinemates close, pressing them to his chassis as tight as he dared.

"I'm still angry at you."

"I know."

"But I won't make you leave." They would be together then. Fine. He'd learn to live with the worry that would bring. Hopefully.

However, until their Littlest knew how to defend himself against a fully upgraded Decepticon... "I'm not letting you out of my sight for the next vorn."


	11. Special Our Home

I wanted to write something with MeanMech again. Sorry this is what I managed to make.

**Our Home**

Not many knew this fact, but at the beginning of the war, there had been four sides. The Autobots and the Decepticons were the obvious ones. The Neutrals, who had been shunned by both sides, was another given. But there had been also the Uninvolved Seekers.

That's how they were called in the first vorn of the War. The Uninvolved Seekers, those that scoffed at the rising troubles and fights, those that didn't want to be a part of the conflict. The seekers that had stayed in Vos, in their home. Waiting for their creations to return from the War they joined, and be with them again.

But the Cybertronian Council, later renamed the Autobot Council, didn't see them as that. They saw those seekers as a threat, a possible source of reinforcements for their greatest enemy, Megatron.

So they took the steps they had deemed appropriate.

*~*~*

Helms lifted to the sky, hundred of optics watching the smoke trailing across the horizon. A few blinked in confusion. It had been too early to think straight, a new work-cycle barely having started.

Then the missiles hit.

*~*~*

When they had first learned about the attack not many believed it. They couldn't, refused to wrap their processors around that. But then their leader showed them the proof, the recording of what _They_ had done, and they had rushed back to their home.

And found nothing that they could recognise.

Piles on piles of rubble, some falling as they landed, some still smoking from the hit. Each tall building reduced to nothing, each precious playground shredded.

Without saying anything, the trines split, and started looking for survivors.

This was why Thundercracker was shifting through the piles of their home, trying to find anything, hoping desperately to find the whole.

Skywarp was helping him, lifting large pieces of buildings and throwing them away, then shoving his servos into the debris, murmuring "Nothing, nothing, nothing..." over and over again.

"Keep looking." The blue flyer would tell him from time to time, finding nothing himself each time.

Then pain flashed through their bond, and they looked towards the feeling. To the direction their Littlest had wandered off to.

"Screamer?" Skywarp called, abandoning his search and moving towards where the missing flyer appeared on their sensors. "Screamer?!"

He didn't get hurt, did he? Surely the Autobots hadn't left any 'surprises' for them to walk into, right?

They both hurried over a mountain of the FlySchool, took a turn by the smoldering remains of the PlayArea and stopped.

There was their Littlest, sitting with his wings to them, humming a lullaby as he rocked back and forth. They glanced at each other in confusion, then walked closer, crouching down on both sides of their trinemate. And instantly understood the reason for the pain as they spotted what the other was holding.

Starscream kept his optics on the object in his grasp. He could remember how this same object held him so gently, or patted his helm in pride, or rubbed his Creator's facial-plates when the mech had been exasperated with him. It did that, when it was still a part of his Creator.

Slowly, as if fearing it would break into even smaller pieces, he wrapped his fingers around one of the digits, smiling weakly to himself when he could do so easily.

"I never did grow to be bigger than him." he murmured with a broken chuckle. The tears fell then, and he craddled his Creator's servo close to his chassis.

TC offlined his optics briefly, the image of their Littlest in this moment searing itself into his mind. He leaned closer, pressing a gentle kiss to one dark temple, then stood.

"We gotta keep looking." There were plently of time to grieve later.

Warp looked up at him, his optics shimmering with unshed tears, then gathered their Littlest into his arms, urging him to stand. They had to be strong now. They were warriors now. Warriors without a home, without a place to return to, without Creators that would love them no matter what.

Cause with the finding of this servo, the truth shoved itself into their facial-plates and they had no choice but to accept it.

They weren't looking for survivors. They were looking for their pieces.

*~*~*

The search was at an end now. All the seekers were seated around the only place more or less untouched by the attack. The only flat surface they had managed to find among the ruins.

The main landing pad.

Ironic, isn't it? Their home was gone, yet it still called for them, welcomed them.

Waited for them.

Starscream sat to TC's left, still holding the only piece of MeanMech (but he only looked mean, he was kind and gentle in reality) they managed to find. Most of them had found something.

Warp had a piece of a wing, tracing his fingers across it as he stared into the distance.

Acidstorm found a leg.

Airfog a piece of shoulder.

Dirge half of a helm.

TC was one of the unlucky ones to find nothing. Nothing to hold, nothing that could remind him of happier times, long past now.

It was all in the past now. They had nothing but the future. The present they all wanted to erase from their memory files.

He probably should say something. He was the defacto leader of the Decepticon seekers, the only remaining seekers.

They were all that was left.

It was Starscream that eventually broke the stiffling silence. He stood up onto shaky peds, and looked around the flyers, around the rubble that surrounded them.

"The home where I was sparked." He murmured, and all the seekers turned their optics to look at him. They recognised the words, the beginning of a prayer they all knew.

They stood up.

"The hands that protected me." The tri-coloured seeker continued, his vocaliser breaking on the second word.

"The legs that taught me to walk." Acidstorm said, hugging the limb.

"The wings that taught me to fly." Warp said, pressing a lingering kiss to the piece of metal he held.

"The processor that taught me to think." Airfog muttered.

Their vocalisers joined then, all murmuring the words in unison, craddling the scraps of their past close to themselves. Slowly, the prayer grew, their vocals flying away with the wind.

"The back that shielded me.

The chassis that craddled me.

The dermas that smiled at me.

The Spark that loved me most.

Each part sacred. Each part cherished.

Each part by Primus blessed.

And all those parts, make my Creator.

Whom I loved even before the sky."

The end of the prayer was to bow your head, and reach across the Creator-Creation bond, and to send their love to their caretakers.

Now, they just stood in silence.

Suddenly, Starscream took a step forward, facial-plates wet, optics hard as he looked from one seeker to the other. His vocaliser, unsteady but strong, quiet yet fierce, uttered the new part of the hymn that would engrave itself into their Sparks.

"Our home is in ruins.

The sky clouded.

Pieces of our Creators,

Scattered over the ground." He paused, vents huffing in barely conceiled rage. "And the revenge that we _want_."

"And the revenge we _will_ get." Thundercracker finished, drawing himself to his full height. He was more than sure of those words.

The trine bonds hummed with agreement.

He glanced over the faces of his troops, his warriors, his brothers in the sky.

Time's up.

"First, we will perform the Recycle Ritual for Vos." he said, his tone hard as any commanders. "Then, we will activate the shields. No one will violate this place further, not even scavengers. Those of you that have sparklings are given a three orn leave to visit them. Make sure the underground care-centre was not compromised nor damaged."

He paused, his own rage burning within him.

"The rest of us will return to Megatron. And find those responsible for this."

*~*~*

Not many knew that at the beginning of the War, there had been four sides. The Autobots, the Decepticons, the Neutrals, and the Uninvolved Seekers.

Not many knew that the Cybertronian Council had given the order to destroy Vos and all its inhabitants.

Not many knew that had been the real reason the former Council had been slaughtered without mercy, ripped to bits which were then hung around the city of Iacon, for all to see.

All knew that the new Council used that act to promote the image of the Sparkless seekers.

Not many knew just how inaccurate a statement that was.

Most didn't care.


	12. Exploring

**Exploring**

Skywarp sat on the berth, looking from one recharging seeker to the other. His wingmates were still, laying on either side of him, facing each other. They were undisturbed by their awake trinemate, their systems humming softly as they worked at a restful pace.

Skywarp sat between them, chin resting on his raised servos as his thoughts raced, optics flickering with emotions as they jumped from one seeker to the other.

Much had changed. First he and TC had joined the Decepticons and started taking part in the riots. Then they went to Screamer and tried to keep him away. That eventually had been ignored, and Screamer joined them in the ranks. Then the War started. Autobots fighting Decepticons, everyone deactivating each other.

Missiles destroying Vos.

Warp offlined his optics as the pain of holding his Creator's wing resurfaced. The only part he had found of the mech, so tiny in his servos. The only part to find among the rubble of his home.

Nothing could take those memories away. He wouldn't let anything erase that. They took their revenge, but the pain stayed, and he wanted it to stay. So he would always remember what They did.

He onlined his optics, looking at his wingmates again. Screamer knew his pain, though they would never understand TC's. He hadn't found anything, not even a scrap of paint.

Wonder how much that hurt...

He reached out a servo, sliding it across an orange cockpit. His fingers trailed across the shape of it, slipping onto a silver chassis, tracing the shape of a red vent. Screamer murmured sleepily, then curled into a little ball, his wings twitching slightly.

Skywarp chuckled softly, and petted one, giving into the urge to tickle the tip. Dark nasal-plates scrunched up at that, and the seeker bent lower, kissing one cheek softly. He sat back, optics turning to the striped limb. He could still see the patches covering circuitry that had been exposed earlier. He trailed his palms over dents located on the other's side, rubbing at their edges gently.

This was a warrior's body. A warrior's body of his Littlest.

His Littlest that was so smart. That could easily understand every little detail about the universe, and at the same time barely grasped the world of mechs that surrounded them. His Littlest, that had always been, and probably always will be so tiny compared to them.

He sometimes got the urge to hide him from the world, so no mech could harm him. Nor touch him as only his trinemates could.

But he was a warrior now. A soldier of the Decepticon cause. And he needed to get used to the sight of his Littlest damaged.

He turned his helm to the side, and reached out to touch the other cockpit. He traced the blue metal stripes securing it to the chassis. He petted the smooth metal, fingers pausing on each scratch and dent. There were more he found during his exploration.

On both arms, both legs. A cracked thruster twitched under his fingers, and he pressed a soft kiss to it, hoping to ease the sting. He slid his palm over the previously-bent wing, finding tiny imperfections of disfigured plating, not yet smoothed out. Black servos clenched briefly, then relaxed at a soft touch to the wrist.

The broken/fixed body of a dedicated leader. A dedicated leader that was his TC, shielding them from all harm, uncaring of himself.

His TC that worried so much. That fretted over everything, whether it would be their next refueling or the next battle, wanting to be the one to provide for them and to protect them. His TC, that had such a doubtful Spark in his large frame.

He sometimes got the urge to smack him upside the helm just so he would stop worrying. To distract him, at least for a moment.

Being a part of a war was probably not helping matters at all.

The battles were getting more and more violent, their damages more and more severe. Hook had said a little more, and a whole new wing would be needed for TC. A little more power in that blast, and Screamer would have had a hole in his wing. A little force more behind the punch, and his own cockpit would have shattered, a layer of protection for his Spark destroyed.

It was getting more and more dangerous to stay alive.

To survive, they had to change. TC was Thundercracker now, the lead-seeker, soon to be promoted to Air Commander. Screamer was the first and only Decepticon scientist, the pride of Megatron.

Warp's teleporter gave him a few pats on the helm from a silver hand too.

They were the first trine, the Commanding Trine.

He leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

The Pride of Seekers, Megatron called them. The best flyers in his ranks. The force that others feared. And they were the first to be sent into battle, to win a victory for the Overlord.

He and his trinemates.

His trinemates...

He looked back at the two flyers and smiled softly.

His trinemates. His beautiful trinemates, that were smart, and that worried. That invented and planned. That completed him, and who he completed.

They sometimes failed to realise that little fact. Sure, TC was the first one to thrown things to protect them. Sure, Screamer was the first one to insult someone to make him go away.

But Warp was the first one to drive others crazy to keep them away from his trine. He pranked those he couldn't defeat, those that deserved it. So they would know not to mess with him. He did it cause it enjoyed it too. He enjoyed their yelps of surprise, their flailing as they tried to free themselves, their curses and threats if they spotted him.

He also enjoyed telling his trinemates about his pranks. Cause they'd join him in his laughter. Cause then they'd smile, and forget about smart stuff and worrying for at least a little while.

That didn't have to change now. They had new roles, true. But who said their old ones had to be left behind?

TC would be the worrywart. Screamer would be the geek. And he'd be the prankster.

He'll be the one to cheer them up. No doubt about it.

*~*

I admit I had a slightly different idea for this. But then I thought it would fit in nicely with the other two, and I admited defeat to the bunny.

Fear the bunies... speaking of which [runs off to write one]


	13. Drinking Energon

Inspired by katsuko's reply to the prompt. XD

**Drinking Energon**

Megatron rubbed at his temple plates, willing his processorache away. This was not a situation he would willingly allow himself to be in.

It was the arrival of the three cycle Ancients Celebration, and the war has been put on a hiatus. Mostly because both Autobots and Decepticons wanted to have fun during the holiday, and experience taught the tyrant that any kind of battle would be a total mockery.

So, he allowed his troops the time off.

And now, half of the 'cons were drunk on High-Grade, his monitoring system barely paid attention to by mechs who _wanted_ to get sloshed, and most of the seekers were having some sort of serenade in the middle of corridor 5c. Not to mention the Cassette Twins running around the place, playing more pranks than ever and being a bigger annoyance than usual.

Dear Primus... well, if he was gonna have to suffer, his Commanding Officers were going to suffer with him. In sobriety, slag it, no matter how much Hook complained and glared. At least Soundwave was keeping his opinion of having a CO meeting during a holiday to himself.

The doors slid open, and Megatron turned to the newcomer. "Ah, Thundercracker, so nice of you to finally join... us?"

The SIC indeed stood in the entryway. Or more like wavered slightly. Propped against his hip was Starscream, who seemed to have no objection whatsoever to being carried around like a sparkling. Then again, judging the way he was slumped over his trinemate's shoulder was a clear indication not much bothered him in his state.

On Thundercracker's other side stood Skywarp, a black servo wrapped firmly around him wrist. It was pretty obvious that was the sole reason the purple seeker hadn't walked into a wall on the way to the Command Center, considering the way he stared blankly into space.

As Megatron watched, the teleporter hiccuped, giggled insanely for a moment, then quieted down again.

The Overlord sighed in resignation. "Did my comm interrupt you?"

Thundercracker wavered, then blinked. "A little, Sir."

A heavy sigh. "Just go." He turned to his TIC and CMO. "You two, too. Go. Get sloshed, frag each other, I don't care anymore." He stood up, and headed for his private rooms. And his secret stash of vintage High-Grade.

If his troops were getting wasted, he might as well join them.


End file.
